Maximum Allowable Annual Rent Increase for Chapter 6 Tenants: 3.9%

The maximum allowable annual rent Increase for Chapter 6 Beverly Hills rent-stabilized tenants has been posted: through June of 2025 the rent may be increased by 3.9% with proper notice. That figure reflects the May-to-May percentage change in the federal Consumer Price Index (CPI) for our region. (The maximum allowable increase for the relatively few Chapter 5 households, i.e. old rent control, for June is 3.2%.) The rent increases did not require city council approval because the percentages were again indexed to inflation after pandemic-era measures came to an end in May 2023.

How is the Chapter 6 Maximum Allowable Annual Rent Increase Calculated?

The vast majority of rent-stabilized households fall under Chapter 6 of the rent stabilization ordinance. The Chapter 6 annual rent increase is calculated once each year in June based on the May-to-May annual change in prices for all items purchased by urban consumers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim region. That ‘all items basket’ of goods and services includes more than three hundred goods and services from bananas to rent. As the cost of all items in our region varies, so does our maximum allowable annual rent increase.

How does Beverly Hills use the CPI percentage to determine the rent increase? Each June the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the annual May-to-May percentage change in prices for the all items basked. Pursuant to B.H.M.C. section 4–6–3 of the rent stabilization ordinance, the city establishes the maximum allowable annual rent increase at 100% of the CPI percentage. If the May-to-May change in prices in our region is 3.9% then that is the percentage established for the Chapter 6 rent increase. The rent may only be raised once each 12 months and by law the landlord cannot keep any rent overcharge.

Additionally the rent stabilization ordinance establishes a floor under the maximum allowable annual rent increase of 3%. No matter how low is inflation, the landlord can always demand at least 3%. If inflation is 1% a Chapter 6 rent may still be raised by 3%. There is no ceiling or cap so the rent can rise with the annual change in consumer prices with no protection for tenants during times of high inflation. The Chapter 6 maximum allowable annual rent increase for the coming year was just posted at 3.9%.

How is the Chapter 5 Maximum Allowable Annual Rent Increase Calculated?

The Chapter 5 rent increase affects only a couple of hundred rent-stabilized households but is calculated differently. While it uses the same monthly CPI data for all items in our region, the percentage is recalculated each month according to an arcane formula described in B.H.M.C. section 4–5–303 of the rent stabilization ordinance.

It is likewise indexed at 100% of CPI, however the formula acts as a kind of moving average of the monthly inflation figure that, in theory, should buffer tenants from some of the variability in prices we see in the index. Chapter 5 tenants should check the RSO website for the allowed monthly percentage when they receive a notice of rent increase.

Other Cities Do Better By Their Tenants!

Most localities with rent-stabilization index their allowed rent increase to the Consumer Price Index in some manner, but how they do it makes a big difference over time in the rent we pay. Shaving a little bit off of the CPI percentage really adds-up over the years due to the compounding effect of the rent increase. Tenants is West Hollywood and Santa Monica fare comparatively well in this regard!

West Hollywood and Santa Monica each allow only 75% of the CPI percentage to be imposed as an annual rent increase. For example if their CPI data show a 4% annual increase in prices these cites allow the landlord to increase the rent by only 3%. Three-quarters of the CPI percentage of 4% is a 3% increase if you live there. By comparison Beverly Hills will allow the full 4% that is the annual change in prices.

The reasoning? Landlords don’t need the extra money. They make it up in miscellaneous fees and charges (late fees, coin laundry, etc.) as well as property value appreciation, say these cities. Unlike Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Santa Monica have done the hard analytic work to determine what is a ‘fair return’ rent increase. In their view the full CPI percentage would over-compensate the landlord.

Beverly Hills is also worse for rent-stabilized tenants because it allows the landlord an unearned 3% annual rent increase even when inflation is very low, even zero percent, and thus the landlord’s costs have not increased. That’s a Beverly Hills giveaway at the tenants’ expense.

Culver city allows the full 100% of the CPI percentage however it restricts the percentage rent increase to a narrow band of 2% to 5% – the latter an effective cap that protects tenants in a time of high inflation. Los Angeles likewise allows 100% of CPI with a cap of 8% at the top end. Beverly Hills has no cap: the maximum allowable annual rent increase percentage can rise with inflation. Here the sky is the limit!

Resources

Want to know more about the rent increase? We go into great detail about calculating rent increases in our explainer: [The Annual Rent Increase: What You Need to Know](The Annual Rent Increase: What You Need to Know [Updated]). Also, the rent increase must be formally noticed at least 30 days in advance (35 days if it is mailed). We go into greater detail in our explainer: What is Proper Notice for a Rent Increase?.

Know that some landlord are sloppy or even unscrupulous where it comes to calculating the rent increase. We look at that in this explainer: Is the Landlord’s Rent Increase Lawful? Trust But Verify! If you discover that you have been charged an unlawful rent increase, or you have reason to suspect your landlord is hoodwinking you by inflating your share of a shared-meter utility bill, bring this to the attention of the city. That money is recoverable.

Beverly Hills Rent Stabilization Division webpage where the allowed rent increase is posted

B.H.M.C. section 4–6–3 of the rent stabilization ordinance

B.H.M.C. section 4–5–303 of the rent stabilization ordinance